Shaw Internet - Magical New Speeds and Lots-o-bandwidth, fickle geeks appeased

[Ducay]

And looks like the whole UBB thing may be toast; Clement orders CRTC to reverse decision

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2011/...t-clement.html

I believe the ruling that will be reversed relates to the usage caps imposed on everyone else renting bandwidth; but I could see this killing UBB for everyone because if small time players can offer unlimited plans again, there would be mass exoduses from the large players that keep UBB.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

people like you drive me nuts.

I do it too. The amount I've saved over the past year alone is staggering.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by Russic

I do it too. The amount I've saved over the past year alone is staggering.

I doubt theonlywhiteout was doing anything more than poking a bit of fun, but I've found that there is a detectable, underlying resentment for people who flip-flop. It always irks me.

When a business manages the free market to their advantage, they're smart. When an individual uses the free market to their advantage, they're a problem. What's up with that? (wrong thread, my bad!)

[Meelapo]

All of this change talk has got me thinking about changing myself. I've been with Shaw for the last 11 or 12 years (Vancouver and then here) and I've been pretty happy with the speeds and reliability (other than this whole UBB business). I have Shaw phone with them too.

With Bell I have the satellite and the HD9242 PVR (I own it).

Overall, with my company discount that Bell has given us, I'm paying around $130 a month ($70 Bell + $60 Shaw).

The only reason I've stuck with Bell is because I have their hardware and I was under the impression that they have the best HD offerings. Is this still the case compared to Telus? Also, how fast is Telus when it comes to downloading from newsgroups and torrents (for TV shows)? If the price is right I just may change though I'm not looking forward to changing my email address and phone number for everything.

[photon]

So overturning the ruling is great for places where there's alternatives to out-compete the big guys, but for Calgary area it's still going to be paying $$ for overages I'd wager.

[soulchoice]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Phoned Telus yesterday and they offered me the "win back" pricing. I wasn't a Telus customer before, but told them I am a Shaw customer right now. This was the offer.

Optik TV
Pick your HDTV
$37 for the first 6 months ($75 after)

Optik Internet
High Speed $15 for first year
High Speed Turbo $23 for first year

Home Phone
One feature $15 for first year
Three Features $23 for first year

Pricing had nothing to do with a contract. A contract only got me the HDPVR or Xbox 360.

I am seriously thinking of switching. That's a pretty good deal. I am not sure what to do with my Shaw hardware though (HD PVR and I got a Shaw expander for x-mas). Maybe I'll hold onto it and in a year consider switching back to maximize my savings.

What are the other costs on a Telus bill? Do you have to rent a modem?

That is a great deal. I just called in to see if I was able to get that deal for my parents and they said no, because there was already a basic phone line in the house. Decided to decline, as they offered me something else, but more money. I would have switched immediately if they would have allowed the win back pricing to occur for me. This despite the fact the phone line in parents house is the most basic. I declined the alternative offer, as it wasnt even remotely close to that pricing.

[HOOT]

I sent an email to Teksavvy asking them to contact me if they ever come to my area with Cable internet. Maybe if they get enough requests for a city they would make the move?

[secol]

as long as i'm a student shaw is where i'm staying.....i only get internet but it's just over 20 bucks a month for shaw extreme which is pretty damned cheap

[woob]

Anyone check out the lastest Shaw Data Usage page? I love how they explain everything

http://www.shaw.ca/en-ca/ProductsSer...wdatausage.htm

They changed it just recently as I was on there on Tuesday and it was different.

[photon]

Man I want the Nitro package.

[Rathji]

Just a comment to people who are flip flopping. The resentment by companies towards people who do this is growing. I know people in various places in the organizations for both Shaw and Telus and they have indicated to me in the last month or so that they are trying to trend more towards rewarding long term customers rather than rewarding people who have just signed up.

With Telus it isn't quite the same because they still need to build their customer base, but I wouldn't be surprised if the long term thinking of both companies trends this way.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by Rathji

With Telus it isn't quite the same because they still need to build their customer base, but I wouldn't be surprised if the long term thinking of both companies trends this way.

Telus does offer this as well. One of my sources who works as a network engineer at telus confirms that they gives certain incentives to people who have stuck with them. I was able to confirm this through a friend who gets a discount of $10 (instead of their normal $5) per item they've sign up with telus. Since he has TV, internet, and phone, he got a discount of $30. He's also not in a contract.

[edn88]

Probably a fata, but I logged into secure.shaw.ca to check on some things this morning, and noticed that they finally "Your Modem Usage" link that shows you your past three months usage.

I sure hope they overturn the UBB, but if not, having a 'meter' has to be mandatory.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by macwillions

must have missed that plan.

could you please post a url to it? thank you!

Unfortunately the link won't go directly to the page, but if you start here:

http://teksavvy.com/en/res-internet.asp

And then in the very top-right of the page switch from ON to AB. Then click on "residential" in the top-right, followed by "High Speed Internet".

A bit cumbersome, but you'll see that it is there.

Nucleus, a Calgary-based company offers some cable plans. They are pretty much the same cost as Shaw but have a slightly higher cap (for example, Extreme is 125 gigs instead of 100).

There are a few other competitors in the Calgary area (or at least companies that offer service in the Calgary area). This is a list that I came across: http://www.canadianisp.ca/

The site is also a bit cumbersome, but it will give you s starting point if you are determined to switch from Shaw. The majority provide DSL, however a few offer cable plans. It at least gives you a starting point.

Personally, I'm going to wait until the dust settles before I take any action. I want to ensure that these competitors will still be allowed to compete in the new environment.

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by edn88

Probably a fata, but I logged into secure.shaw.ca to check on some things this morning, and noticed that they finally "Your Modem Usage" link that shows you your past three months usage.

I sure hope they overturn the UBB, but if not, having a 'meter' has to be mandatory.

You are better off to call shaw and ask what your modem usage is. Looking it up yourself uses your bandwidth and could become costly.

[Yamer]

Somehow, in a matter of 3 days, my bandwidth usage went up 15 gigs. I haven't used the internet for anything other than surfing the web the past week.

Either Shaw is screwing up, or someone is hijacking my wireless. Changed my password and re-configured my router just in case.

This is crazy. I've never had to worry about my usage before.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

You are better off to call shaw and ask what your modem usage is. Looking it up yourself uses your bandwidth and could become costly.

Definitely the way to go.

Why should a customer have to use up their allowance to see how much room they have left?

What if visiting that page puts them over their limit?

Call Shaw at least 1x/week to check your status, and if they tell you to do it online, just ask them "Will that bandwidth count against my cap? Yes? Then I won't do it since I can have it done for free by you."

Oh, and FYI, every call into a call centre costs the parent company ~$8...

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by Yamer

Somehow, in a matter of 3 days, my bandwidth usage went up 15 gigs. I haven't used the internet for anything other than surfing the web the past week.

Either Shaw is screwing up, or someone is hijacking my wireless. Changed my password and re-configured my router just in case.

This is crazy. I've never had to worry about my usage before.

I think the fact that the modem is still transmitting even when no computers are in use is troublesome.

That would be the equivalent of a Cell company charging customers $0.10/incoming text, and then sending out information texts to their customers on a regular basis, and not letting those be free.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

i cant stress this enough, the only thing a contract does for you is give you discounts on pvr or box rentals. the bundle discount is available to you for tv if you have at least phone or adsl with that tv service

I believe you, but can you help me find the Telus page for non-contract TV service?

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

I think the fact that the modem is still transmitting even when no computers are in use is troublesome.

That would be the equivalent of a Cell company charging customers $0.10/incoming text, and then sending out information texts to their customers on a regular basis, and not letting those be free.

Agree.

I know that I will be unplugging my modem when I am away from home for extended periods. Would that help?

And 15 gigs seems ridiculously excessive for 3 days of web browsing. It will be interesting to see what kind of usage I accumulate with a new password.

I believe I have a healthy level of paranoia.